The Open Book: A Tale of Edward Elric's Poorly Hidden Orientation
by mcarnality
Summary: So much for discretion. So much for secrecy. Edward just cannot hide his sexuality from anybody. RoyxEd (yaoi)


"Why don't you tell me anything anymore, Brother?"

Ed stopped piling the food on his plate into his mouth, and dragged panic-stricken golden irises up to meet the two scarlet orbs calmly questioning him from across the table. In the moment their eyes met, Edward could almost see a baiting smile paint itself across the face he imagined his younger brother would have now, but the metal armor remained expressionless. Al's soul laughed with the emotion his body couldn't convey. "You should see yourself, Brother," a distant voice echoed in the suit, "You look like someone just asked you to drink a glass of milk."

Edward remained silent, hoping if he ignored the question it would just disappear rather than hang in the air around them like a suffocating stream of chlorine gas. But Ed new his brother better than to think he would simply let something like this go.

"Well? I'm waiting." Alphonse was clearly enjoying Edward's distress, and his voice sang with teasing anticipation as he tilted his helmet in such a way that prodded Ed to answer. Whether it was the sausage blocking his windpipe or the fact that his stomach suddenly decided to plummet 6378 kilometers to the center of the earth, the Fullmetal Alchemist was at a loss for words. And oxygen.

"Um," he finally uttered with a face the same shade of red as his familiar coat, "I do, Alphonse. Why would you think I'm keeping something from you?"

Never going to admit that the thought ever crossed his mind, Ed seriously considered taking advantage of his small body at that moment by hiding underneath the table until the awkwardness of the situation decided to leave the cafe. But dignity was a prideful bastard, and kept him rooted to the interrogation seat. A cold sweat pooled at automail ports.

Al shrugged. "Well, for one you're blushing, and I haven't even accused you of anything yet." It was true. Flames burned beneath the surface of Ed's cheeks, and by the crimson hue, one would certainly think the boy had just run the entire way from Central to East City. But that wasn't actually the case.

Embarrassment. Anger. And something Edward didn't want to even admit to himself he was feeling, something that twisted his stomach into a complicated knot that no one could untangle - a stomach now scowling at the plate which no longer held its normally insatiable interest. To hell with emotional control. Damn Alphonse and his ability to see right through him. Damn those perceptive orbs that aren't even eyes at all!

"I don't know what you're-" Ed didn't even have time to finish the thought before Al interrupted with, "Do you like boys, Brother?"

Diversion attempt: Fail.

Bested again by a little brother who didn't know when to stop asking questions.

Next tool in Edward Elric's poorly equipped repertoire of secrecy: Lying.

"Hell no, Al," he laughed in that I'm-really-faking-this-but-maybe-you'll-still-beli eve-it kind of way and rubbed an automail hand through his braid. Hell fucking yes. "I mean there's you, but you're my brother so of course I'm going to like you."

The two Elrics faced each other yet no one talked for some time. Ed knew his incompetent acting and offhand dismissal would not be enough to suffice Al, and Al knew Ed was not going to openly admit to having homosexual preferences. But what the brothers did not know was where to go from there for one was lost in trying to find a way to change the topic of conversation while the other was looking for something to continue it.

As Edward – still under intense scrutiny – took a drink from the glass of water near his forgotten food, Alphonse nonchalantly broke the silence.

"Hey look, it's Colonel Mustang with some woman," he commented and pointed to the dark haired man in a blue uniform just across the street from where they sat. Al had intended the remark to be nothing more than an ease of tension between the two of them, but what the younger Elric had not expected was how his older brother would respond to it.

The sound of a chair crashing to the floor echoed through the small cafe, and the breastplate of Al's armour was suddenly showered in water straight from Ed's mouth. "WHAT THE HELL?" the blonde State Alchemist screamed in an octave rising with surprise and fury as he stared bullets at his superior officer. Roy, however, remained oblivious to the scene unfolding in the impromptu theater of the small Central cafe.

A moment or two of awkward apologies and embarrassed glances passed before Edward had managed to calm his breathing, pick up the discarded piece of furniture, and seat himself back at the table, golden head resting in a gloved automail palm. His face was disfigured with emotions ranging from unguarded hurt to smoldering discontent. Lost in a thought clearly related to Colonel Mustang and that woman, Ed was oblivious to Alphonse staring at him, oblivious to the confirmation he was giving his younger brother.

If armor could smile, Al would have been sporting a smug grin.


End file.
